Casinos and other forms of gaming comprise a growing multi-billion dollar industry that has experienced many changes and innovations in recent years. While gaming machines have become a staple for many casinos and gaming establishments, table games remain an immensely popular form of gaming and a substantial source of revenue for gaming operators as well. Such table games can include poker, blackjack, craps, roulette and other traditional standbys, as well as other more recently introduced games such as pai-gow, Carribean Stud, Spanish 21, and Let It Ride, among others. Under a typical gaming event at a gaming table, a player places a wager on a game, whereupon a winning may be paid to the player depending on the outcome of the game. As is generally known, a wager may involve the use of cash or one or more chips, markers or the like, as well as various forms of gestures or oral claims. The game itself may involve the use of, for example, one or more cards, dice, wheels, balls, tokens or the like, with the rules of the game and any payouts or pay tables being established prior to game play. As is also known, possible winnings may be paid in cash, credit, one or more chips, markers, or prizes, or by other forms of payouts.
Various systems and methods for operating the floor of a casino or gaming establishment with its table game regions or “pits” have evolved gradually over the years, with innovations such as card shufflers, multi-deck shoes, and improved security cameras and systems all being introduced at times to better the manageability and efficiency of the gaming and floor operations processes. As technology in the gaming industry progresses in general, improvements have also been made with respect to gaming machines and related systems. For instance, traditional methods of dispensing coins or tokens as awards for winning game outcomes at gaming machines are being supplemented by ticket dispensers that print ticket vouchers that may be exchanged for cash or accepted as credit of indicia in other gaming machines for additional game play. An award ticket system, which allows award ticket vouchers to be dispensed and utilized by gaming machines, increases the operational efficiency of maintaining a gaming machine and simplifies the player pay out process. An example of an award ticket system is the EZ Pay® ticket system by IGT of Reno, Nev. Award ticket systems and systems using other cashless mediums are referred to as cashless systems.
Cashless systems, such as the EZ Pay® ticket system, provide advantages to both game players and casino operators. For example, many players find it more convenient to carry an award ticket than a large number of coins. For gaming machine operators, cashless systems tend to reduce gaming machine operating costs. For example, the infrastructure needed to remove and count indicia of credit (e.g., coins, tokens, bills) from the gaming machine may be eliminated or minimized when it is replaced with a cashless system, which reduces the gaming machine operating costs. Further, coin dust, which is potentially damaging to the components of the gaming machine (e.g., electronic components), may be eliminated or minimized when coin acceptors are replaced with the cashless system. Other advantages that can be obtained through the use of such cashless systems have also been devised, such as, for example, those disclosed in the priority application incorporated above. Unfortunately, such cashless systems are typically designed for and implemented with gaming machine systems, such that their benefits have not really been recognized at gaming tables.
In addition, there are numerous gaming promotions, and in particular table game promotions, that are used in the casino industry today. Included in such table game promotions are various forms of giveaway or bet matching coupons, such as, for example, a $5 match coupon for a $5 bet at a single table game play, whereby a player can win $10 for a $5 bet, or simply lose the $5 bet depending upon the outcome of the game. In either event, the coupon or promotional item is then taken away by the table dealer or other casino personnel after the single game play. These promotional items tend to be in the form of newspaper cutouts, coupons, mailers, other mass produced paper items and the like, and there is typically no form of validation and no form of automated tracking for such promotional items. Although such coupons and other paper items might be tracked manually by casino personnel, such endeavors can be inconvenient and time consuming. Furthermore, there are typically few or no measures used to authenticate or validate such table based promotional offers.
With respect to gaming machines and table games, it is generally known within the industry that many gaming patrons prefer one form of gaming over the other, and that a significant number of patrons tend to play only one or the other. For example, some gaming players prefer the anonymity and isolation of gaming machines, and also tend to be intimidated by the generally open and social nature of table games. Further, because such players tend to play little to no table games, such table games can be even more intimidating in that many have rules, procedures and payouts that may be unknown or unfamiliar to such players. Because many gaming patrons can be especially disinclined to play games that are unfamiliar to them, there might generally be little incentive for a player who mostly plays gaming machines to play table games or to try new table games.
Accordingly, not only do needs exist to enable broader abilities with respect to cashless transactions at gaming tables and the tracking of such cashless transactions and table game promotions in a more reliable and efficient manner, but there is also a need to motivate some players to try new table games or to try table games in general. Although existing systems and methods for providing cashless transactions and for providing and tracking table game promotions may have been adequate in the past, improvements to such existing systems and methods are usually encouraged. It is thus desirable to provide such improvements, and in particular for such systems and methods to involve the expanded use of cashless instruments with respect to gaming tables, along with the use of more automated features and functions, such as those found with respect to the EZ Pay® ticket system or other cashless instrument systems.